Ralph Pettersen's mysteries at Greybull,WY

My visit to Greybull dates from 1994 and I am always glad for reports from this remote airport, homebase of Hawkins & Powers.
On their premises are a few planes which as yet have not be identified for their construction numbers and previous identities; Ralph Pettersen sent me an update for my Log Reports from Greybull,WY.
He also sent me a few photos of those aircraft which needed further identification; date of visit was 03May03.

Ralph told me: "A very reliable source assured me he is 90 percent certain that this aircraft is N15501. He says he was at Greybull a week after me looking at the possiblity of buying a C-119. He confirmed the identity of this aircraft."
As that source wrote himself: "....somewhere along the line someone will clarify which s/n is for N15501 or even if this was the real N15501. As always, I am open for criticism, as I am sure not too many people have solved the H&P number switching."
"It was an odd looking match that made me look harder at a long nosed plane and three blade prop when at Greybull in May 2003. I squinted by the cockpit windows to look for an old ident as this is where the s/n would have been painted and is usually etched-in after time and this is where I recorded 22130 in my notes (which is all I have to go by)."

Chuck Lunsford (RIP), someone I consider an expert on C-119s, wrote me:
"I noticed it has had the newer three bladed props installed. I'm pretty sure that's the one that Duane Powers quoted me a selling price of US$400,000 last year. I hope it survives the movie making."

to Hawkins & Powers as N15501, 15Jul81 (one source reports they had it by May 1977)

stored (Greybull, Wyoming), (date unknown) (one source reports it was stored at Tucson, AZ and was noted there in May90 and Jun96)

last noted** (derelict; engineless; Greybull, Wyoming), Apr97
(I believe it was delivered as a C-119F and was converted to a G later. 22124 was lost as an F, the rest all became Gs. Some had modified noses and served as an ECM trainer. 22130 wasn't one of them.)

N15501 participated in the remake of the movie Last Flight of the Phoenix (starring Dennis Quaid, below) and returned home, to Greybull,WY. Here is a shot from that movie (but not from N15501):

And this is N15501 after its return to Greybull,WY in June 2004 (photo by Marco Kosterman)
(click on the picture for a larger image)
N15501 was sold to Hans O. Lauridsen; the aircraft was seen on 01Sep08 parked at Morristown Airpark,AZ

Click HERE for a view in the cockpit (photo made by Roger Pardee, recording specialist - recording reciprocal engines at Greybull
The first Flight of the Phoenix was produced and directed by Robert Aldrich in 1965 and was shot in Buttercup Valley in Arizona, a desert site that had been used many times for such movies as the 1926 Beau Geste. Here is a link with details on the Crash of the Phoenix and the consequent death of Paul Mantz.This movie did not feature C-119s, but C-82s: 3 Fairchild C-82 Packet cargo planes were required for filming and were located at Long Beach Airport, CA. They were all operated by Steward-Davis Inc., and were registered as N6887C, N4833V and N53228 (thank you Peter Pickering!)

It's the same like I saw it in 1994, click here for a large image of "06"; there were 2 C-119s marked "06" in 1994 upon my visit, one derelict and this one handsomely restored. All the RCAF C-119s had 4-bladed props.
It was suggested to me that this preserved aircraft, repainted as RCAF '06', could have been N8094, but N8094 was former RCAF 22135 and a C-119 has been reported stored elsewhere on the airfield with "135" read underneath the wing. But what was its former identity then ?

See my Oct.2014 visit, when I noticed RCAF 22135 parked in the storage area, and this '06' at the Greybull museum. So still not solved.

These sorry remains were identified as c/n KF-257, former 53-8154, N90267 and N4999P.
Chuck Lunsford wrote me: "53-8154-- it was a 10th Squadron airplane at Dreux (France) and one of the few from that group that made it to the civil registry."
N90267 was sold in 2006 to Ed Rachanski and transported to Nevada for his personal collection; see C-119 Info Page (2).

The above aircraft was identified thru this plate.
Graham Robson wrote me this: "C-119 nose section, from the data plate would be Kaizer-Fraser production msn 257, which would make it ex USAF 53-8154. This C-119G resided in Alaska and was reported as derelict at Anchorage in 1994, registered N90267. After it was broken up it must have found its way to Greybull.

Another mystery C-119, former Royal canadian Air Force:

Could this be the same I saw in 1994 ? The remains of no.1 engine looks the same after all those years, the discoloring of the RCAF flash too. But code "06" has been removed now (not faded, as the other colors are intact, but actively removed: why ?).
On the subject of other C-119s present at Greybull, I was given the following information:The other three bladers there in May were..

N3003 with '03' on jet pack, long nose and underwing spray bars.

N37636, Georgia Box, USAF marks, short nose, no jet.

N8505A, no jet, short nose, ex Alaska.
Is there anyone with the technical insight to explain if three blade 'F' and four blade 'G' props are interchangeable in pairs?

The tires gave it away: Lockheed C-130A Hercules N133FF (c/n 3143) is used as spareparts supply source. Have a look at the photo I took in 1994, still complete with tailsection (and tailnumber !).

Graham Robson offered the following theory on this mystery bird: "P2V-7 is probably the airframe slated for turbine conversion but, according to H&P at the time of my visit, the chief designer on the project was tragically killed in a motor accident, which halted the programme. The port engine nacelle had been modified to what would appear to be a QEC for Alison T-56s from P-3s, which was the reason for acquiring the former Spanish A/F example (as I am lead to believe). Again, from the Propliner #45 report, the only P2V-7 not accounted for elsewhere or since is 147957 (N7060X) which is reported as having the markings 'sanded' , suggesting preparation for work to be done on it, and the later shots would support this."
Another source ("Bill") confirmed N7060X (c/n 7207): I have N7060X c/n 7207 ex 147957 as the P2 Neptune that was half converted
to take a turboprop engine on one side. Seen and photographed at KGEY 19Oct93 & 31May94. Looking at the photo there are no external markings visible and the regn is written on the slide in brackets indicating that it was not read off on the day."
However, in Jan.2002 I got a reply from H&P on my question what the status was on "converting a radial engine powered P-2V aircraft to a turbine powered configuration with a state of the art electronics (glass) cockpit"(quoted from H&P's website at the time) and the reply was: The Tail # is T-138, N138HP, S/N 148338. Current status - incomplete, project on hold."
Another mystery ? David Ellis sent me the following email after visiting Greybull in July 2004: The photo from Ralph of the P2 used for conversion trials is definitely 148338 (read off the port side) as H&P suggest - therefore is N138HP ! " Thanks David !

And indeed, Ralph revisited Greybull on 29Jul06 and provided photoproof of N13HP being former 148338; he wrote:
" Attached is a list of aircraft at Greybull during my 29 July visit. There were 3 P2V's which were difficult to identify, but I think I got it sorted out (they are highlighted in green). The surprise was that one of them was N138HP, BuNo148338. I photographed the tail of the aircraft with painted over BuNo and then played with the contrast which confirms the BuNo.....it confirms that the aircraft is BuNo148338 ! See attached photo.

Chuck Lunsford (RIP) researched the gunship AC-119 variety and wrote a book about his days as a radio operator on board these planes:"Departure Message"